<p>HH:
“When my son has sex for the first time, as a virgin, with a girl who is a virgin (or even not!) I do not want him worrying about AIDS because of some silly gay activist agenda. And if that offends you, I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>If you do not want him worrying, and thus protecting himself through safe sex practices, then you’re naive, and are putting him in danger if this is what you’re teaching him. It has nothing to do with any “silly gay activist agenda”. </p>
<p>I’m still waiting for you to answer my question. Or, more likely, you already have, and the answer is zero.</p>
<p>There are not only gay people who get AIDS, HH. Heteros get it too.</p>
<p>Maybe you made the right decision in pulling your child out of that sinful discussion. Frankly, I am glad mine will have the information, even if he is as hetero as they come. And only someone afraid of homosexuality would believe that health information provided in school, meant to protect kids, is part of an agenda…<shudder>…the pro-gay marriage movement. <shudder></shudder></shudder></p>
<p>"so how can anyone who supports “family values” be opposed to marriage for gays? "</p>
<p>I really don’t know. I sincerely believe (and I know many conservatives who share this view) that marriage promotes responsibility and personal support. Who could be against that? My only personal caveats are: marriage should be for adults, marriage should be for two people who are legally unencumbered, and all people meeting those criteria who choose to marry should receive the rights AND responsibilities of the institution.</p>
<p>My best, best friend (who I’ve mentioned here) has been in a relationship for decades with a man I adore. They’re the only “outsiders” allowed to babysit my little boy because I know they’re as compulsive about safety as I am.</p>
<p>That said. I do have a problem with plural marriage and, while I’m not a slippery slope kind of girl, the demonstrations and lawsuits by supporters of that topic do disturb me.</p>
<p>Okay, you people can’t be that dense, really. I said gays are sinful?
Did you miss that GAY BOYS are the ONLY KIDS <em>NOT</em> getting the information, AM? That is my concern? Truth in education? You missed that, ladies?
Please take the time to READ my posts. Thank you.
There is no point in continuing this discussion on my part. I cannot make myself any clearer, sorry.
AAM: I don’t know what your question was. I do know gay boys, gay family; they are my concern. But my concern is ALSO (in addition to be clear) that straight kids do not get a warped view of sex! The chance of contracting heterosexual AIDS is miniscule, unless you sleep with a bi partner, or an intravenous drug user! Why tell kids otherwise? This is not to condone promiscuous sex, but the AIDS issue is SEPARATE from the STD issue. I can’t converse with people who have mindsets like yours. You are so ready to condemn without even trying to understand.</p>
<p>This is absolutely untrue. Please do not spread this information to innocent young children. Giving them this impression puts them at very high risk for a death sentence! Where do you get such crazy ideas?</p>
<p>Michael Fumento: The Myth of Heterosexual Aids.
You read the CDC stats. I guess maybe you’re calling man on man sex heterosexual if the man has had a girlfriend or is married like kluge does?</p>
<p>HH, as much as I’d really like to stop responding to your posts, I cannot let a comment like the following go:</p>
<p>"The chance of contracting heterosexual AIDS is miniscule, unless you sleep with a bi partner, or an intravenous drug user! Why tell kids otherwise? "</p>
<p>We should tell them otherwise because THAT is not accurate. Every time your child, or ANYone, is having sexual contact with ANYone, they are also, in effect, ‘sleeping’ with everyone else that THAT person has slept with in a prior relationship. It’s unrealistic to think that your child, or anyone is going to meet someone, that they’ll both be not only virgins but have had no experience with oral sex either (also a possibility for transmission, although a slight one in comparison), that they’ll be together forever with no one else ever entering the picture. That happens so rarely that it should be considered never in terms of being a determining factor in how you educate your children about safe sex. Otherwise, they are at risk. You really need to do some reading to inform yourself, and thus be in a position to educate your children, since you don’t want the schools to do it. Have a look at this CDC link:</p>
<p>Scroll down to the Exposure Category section. I would not consider those Heterosexual Contact numbers miniscule. </p>
<p>I don’t want any student to get a warped view of sex. I don’t see how they do, if they’re given the proper information. AIDS is a reality that all humans have to deal with, and protect themselves against. It isn’t just a gay disease. How does educating students and providing them with information give them a warped view? And I fail to see what the sex ed curriculum at your kids’ school has to do with the gay marriage issue anyway. Two committed individuals who want to marry and spend their lives together is another issue entirely. It has nothing to do with AIDS.</p>
<p>edited to add: Forget individuals with an agenda such as Michael Fumento for reliable, unbiased, factual information. Stick with the CDC.</p>
<p>Actually, its an absolute fact that gays are at a much higher risk of contracting AIDS than straight people. For whatever reason you do not like to admit it, but I suggest you talk to your doctor or pick up the New England Medical Journal or many of the others who have published extensive studies. The last one I read from that journa lwas about the gay in San Fran. whose homosexual tendancies and acts and ways they have sexual contact has exposed them to AIDS immensly. When AIDS first immerged aside from IV drug users who else had it? straight people? NO, it was gay people. Gay men are at extreme risk of AIDS. This is undisputable.</p>
<p>Hepatitis is actually much easier to get than HIV
I got HepB from someplace- don’t know where-
could have been a public bathroom
All I know is- I was tested when I was pregnant with my 2nd and again when I went to give blood a few years later. In the interim, I had contracted HepB and produced antibodies- ( all of my family is negative and I dont have any risk factors)
so if you are worried about your kids getting HIV, you may want to worry about HepB too- and caution them about public bathrooms or shaking hands ;)</p>
<p>What’s to understand, HH? In your world, heterosexual people don’t get AIDS; hence, they need not learn how to protect themselves from this deadly disease. No need for information, because it doesn’t affect them. It’s an awful “GAY PERSON’S DISEASE”!!!</p>
<p>Alternatively, information about AIDS should only be given to gay children…? What the heck?</p>
<p>I am not trying to “condemn without trying to understand.” I am not condemning your reasons for removing your son from a school in which you did not feel comfortable. That is your right as a parent, and I respect it completely. Hey, I moved one of my kids to private school because kids couldn’t run on the playground or have a class party, among myriad other reasons. There is no right or wrong on individual parental decisions such as these.</p>
<p>But it is quite a stretch to say that there is some “homosexual agenda”, some “pushing gay marriage agenda”, because schools are trying to protect young people, many of whom WILL become sexually active, from a deadly disease. Maybe your sons will stay celibate, and marry virgins. But most kids won’t, and need to be armed with information.</p>
<p>One more time: The school Health text educated kids as young as 10 about EVERY POSSIBLE WAY TO CONTRACT AIDS <em>EXCEPT</em> GAY SEX. Got it now???
It is homphobic to ask that they include that particular way of contracting the disease? Especially since SOME (according to you, only some) statistics point to the male homosexual population as being most at risk? Are you people reading???</p>
<p>Maybe it’s the Catholic thing (I noticed mini keeps bring up gay Popes). Do you just see the word Catholic and assume people are BRAIN DEAD??</p>
<p>AM: Check out some gay activist websites. Maybe you can educate yourself.</p>
<p>If your school department didn’t include that method of transmission, I agree it is ridiculous. It’s hard to imagine; gay sex is absolutely mentioned as a method of transmission here (but you know…I live in a morally corrupt state anyway ;)).</p>
<p>It is NOT mentioned here and, repeat, NOT because of a far right, and/or religious agenda, but because of, oh, an agenda of some other belief system, shall we say.</p>
<p>I am not familiar with many health textbooks- I think it is enough to stress that diseases that are blood/fluid borne, would be contagious through any sort of exchange of body fluids- whether homo-or hetero sexual contact- it doesn’t really matter. It theoretically could be through a kiss or from blood on a skinned knee.
It is a disease that anyone can get, that is transmissible by fluid- pretty simple</p>
<p>I would also wonder at the type of information students were getting from that book
My daughter didn’t have health till 8th grade- ( in a mixed 7th/8th class), they talked about nutrition, stress, depression, etc, and used novels as part of their language arts study which touched on health issues.
Generally however when it is a seperate class, parents are informed what will be discussed in class and alternatives are arranged if they have an objection to their child in the class.
Her health class in high school- is more direct- and has a textbook- ( in 11th gd), right now they have been discussing family predispostions to disease, ways to deal with stress and adopting healthy behaviors and attitudes.
If I had a problem with what she was learning- I would be sure to be there in the classroom- especially when children are young, they may misintrepret something- or take out of context, so it is important to guide them through when there is perhaps more material than they can comprehend.
Health covers a wide variety of issues that are very important- which is why I get upset when I hear about curriculum that teaches that condoms are not effective against pregnancy. Some of these kids may not be getting any more information than what they learn in school- so it needs to be at a level they can understand and be accurate</p>
<p>“I don’t understand the attraction of having sex in bathrooms-
eeww”</p>
<p>I never did either. Gay marriage seems alot more healthy to me. That said at some point in the Maupin Tales of the City books when he’s talking about the San Francisco bathhouses, I almost understood how liberating it was for the young men who flocked to the city to be able to put their trust in strangers. Too bad that biology won out - monogamy is much safer.</p>
<p>I would think that the new Global AIDS Czar annointed by Sec. Rice has the necessary information, and if the Secretary of State (probably with the Prez’s blessing) is ready to embrace gay marriage by way of the mother-in-law, I would think most Americans should be ready to as well.</p>
<p>HH:
What textbook were they using for sex ed? I think it is inapprpriate for them to omit anal sex as a factor. I am still waiting for your source that gay sex is the greatest risk factor. Why is HIV so prevalent in Africa?</p>
<p>I assume this is a rhetorical question- but I beleive it is because that there is a stigma against using condoms-( and celibacy)and few needle echange prpgrams</p>
<p>I applaud the administrations attempt to bring more attention to a disease that is not going away-
10% of the worlds population lives in SubSaharan Africa- but it is home to 64% of the worlds population living with HIV
I remember too clearly when our US govt declared that we didn’t need to test the blood supply for transmission of the virus, because it was a “gay” disease.
At the same time, my baby daughter received 7 transfusions of platelets ( most from the same source) over a week long period.
Very scary-</p>